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France Criticizes ‘Demagogic’ Move by Israel to Ban Hard-Left Leader Melenchon

World  09 November 2026, France, Paris: France's Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, speaks during a G7 foreign ministers' meeting in Paris. (dpa)

France Criticizes ‘Demagogic’ Move by Israel to Ban Hard-Left Leader Melenchon

France has ‌criticized as "demagogic" a decision by Israel to ban French hard-left presidential candidate Jean-Luc Melenchonand another leading figure in…

World Congolese workers wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) walk outside the Ebola Treatment Center at the Bunia General Referral Hospital following a resurgence of Ebola involving the Bundibugyo strain, in Bunia, Ituri province, the Democratic Republic of Congo, November 2, 2026. (Reuters)

UN Hails Progress in Ebola Response, Cites Insecurity as Biggest Challenge

UN health officials on Friday hailed progress in the Ebola response six months after the outbreak first prompted global concerns, but cautioned that the…

World Workers install signage for the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) China 2026 summit on the wall of a building in Shenzhen, China's Guangdong province on November 12, 2026. (AFP)

Five Facts About APEC with Trump, Putin and Xi Set to Attend

Attention will focus next week ‌on a summit of US, Chinese and Russian leaders set for the 21-member gathering of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation …

World Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi attends a ceremony for the exchange of signed documents at the Akasaka State Guest House in Tokyo, Japan, 09 November 2026. (EPA)

Takaichi to Attend APEC in First China Trip as PM

Japan said Friday that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi would visit China next week for the first time since she took office last year, attending an Asia-Pacific…

World  A police officer inspects the site of a residential house damaged by a Russian military strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine November 13, 2026. (Reuters)

Europe Pushes for Seat at Ukraine Peace Talks ‌but Lacks Unified Voice

European nations are seeking an envoy to represent them in talks on ending the Russia-Ukraine war, concerned that a US-backed process will leave them sidelined…


World This photograph shows the Omani consulate general ahead of indirect nuclear talks between the United States and Iran in Geneva on February 17, 2026. (AFP)

Iran Foreign Minister Says Progress Made in Nuclear Talks with US in Geneva

Iran and the United States reached an understanding on Tuesday on main "guiding principles" in talks aimed at resolving their longstanding nuclear dispute, but…

Asharq Al Awsat
World A person lays flowers at the grave of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny while marking the first anniversary of his death at a cemetery in Moscow, Russia, February 16, 2025. REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina

Kremlin Rejects Claim it Poisoned Navalny with Dart Frog Toxin, Widow Says Truth is Out

The Kremlin on Monday flatly rejected accusations from five European countries that the Russian state had killed Alexei Navalny two years ago using toxin from…

Asharq Al Awsat
World European Commissioner for the Mediterranean Dubravka Suica speaks during a debate on the “Situation in Northeast Syria, the violence against civilians and the need to maintain a sustainable ceasefire” as part of the European Parliament plenary session in Strasbourg, France, 10 February 2026. (EPA) 

EU to Take Part in Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ but Not as Member 

The European Union will take part in this week's inaugural meeting of US President Donald Trump's "Board of Peace", but a spokesman insisted Monday that…

World People queue to visit the grave of Alexei Navalny, the late Russian opposition leader, on the second anniversary of his death, at the Borisovskoye Cemetery in Moscow, Russia, 16 February 2026. EPA/MAXIM SHIPENKOV

Kremlin Rejects European Assessment Navalny Died of Poisoning

The Kremlin said Monday that it "strongly rejected" an assessment by five European countries that Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny died from poisoning…

Asharq Al Awsat
World General view of the city center of Toamasina on February 14, 2026 following the passage of tropical cyclone Gezani during the night of February 10, 2026. (AFP)

Madagascar Cyclone Death Toll Rises to 59 

Flooding and fierce winds have pushed Madagascar's death toll from Cyclone Gezani to 59, with more than a dozen people still unaccounted for, the country's…

World FILED - 26 July 2023, Russia, Saint Petersburg: Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov attends a meeting at the Konstantinovsky Palace. Photo: Vladimir Smirnov/KREMLIN/dpa

Kremlin Says 'Main Issues' Will Be Discussed in Geneva Talks on Ukraine this Week, Including Territory

The Kremlin said on Monday that what it called "the main issues" would be ‌discussed ‌in peace talks ‌on ⁠Ukraine due to be ⁠held in Geneva this…

Asharq Al Awsat
World German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul speaks during the 62nd Munich Security Conference (MSC) on February 14, 2026 in Munich, southern Germany. Heads of state and government as well as foreign and defense ministers from all over the world are expected to attend the security policy talks from February 13 to 15, 2026. (AFP)

German Foreign Minister Slams France Over Defense Spending 

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul criticized French defense spending on Monday, calling for Paris to do more to turn calls for European security…

World Protesters attend a demonstration organized by The Munich Circle, against the Iranian government under the motto "Freedom for Iran", during the Munich Security Conference (MSC), in Munich, Germany, February 14, 2026. (Reuters)

Report: New Anti-Government Chants in Tehran After Giant Rallies Abroad 

Some residents of Tehran on Sunday chanted slogans against the clerical leadership from balconies and windows, reports said, a day after Iranians abroad staged…

World Ben Archbold, legal aid solicitor for accused Bondi shooter Naveed Akram, speaks to the media outside the Downing Centre in Sydney, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. (Bianca De Marchi/AAP Image via AP)

Suspect in Mass Shooting at Sydney Jewish Festival Appears in Court 

A man accused of killing 15 people in a mass shooting at a Jewish festival on Sydney's Bondi Beach appeared in court Monday for the first time since his…

World Iranians walk past an anti-US billboard at Enqelab Square in Tehran, Iran, 16 February 2026. (EPA)

Iran Says US ‘More Realistic’ on Nuclear Issue, as Guards Begin Drills in Hormuz Strait

Iran said on Monday that the United States' position on Iran's nuclear program "has moved towards a more realistic one", a day ahead of a second round of US…

Asharq Al Awsat (Geneva)
World In this photo provided by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, second right, attends a completion ceremony of the new street, called Saeppyol Street in Pyongyang, North Korea Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)

NKorea Opens Housing District for Families of Soldiers Killed in Russia-Ukraine War

North Korea said Monday it completed a new housing district in Pyongyang for families of North Korean soldiers killed while fighting alongside Russian forces…

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World Men perform molten iron fireworks in a park in Beijing on February 15, 2026 ahead of the Lunar New Year of the Horse. (Photo by Pedro PARDO / AFP)

Fireworks Store Blast in China Kills 8 Ahead of Lunar New Year

An explosion and fire at a fireworks shop in eastern China has killed eight people and left two others with minor burns ahead of the Lunar New Year,…

Asharq Al Awsat
World  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gestures as he speaks during the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, in Jerusalem, February 15, 2026. (Reuters)

Netanyahu Says US Deal with Iran Must Dismantle Nuclear Infrastructure

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday he told US President Donald Trump last week that any US deal with Iran must include the dismantling of…

World  08 February 2026, Iran, Tehran: Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi gives his weekly press conference at the Foreign Ministry in Tehran. (dpa)

Iran’s Top Diplomat to Attend ‘Indirect’ Talks with US in Geneva

Iran’s top diplomat was traveling from Tehran on Sunday to Geneva where the second round of nuclear negotiations with the US will take place, Iranian state…

World Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama. (AFP file photo)

Albanian PM Says He Will Attend US ‘Board of Peace’ Meeting

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama will travel to Washington next week to join the first meeting of US President Donald Trump's "Board of Peace", he told a…

World European High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy Kaja Kallas speaks during the 62nd Munich Security Conference (MSC), in Munich, Germany, 15 February 2026. (EPA)

Don’t Get Sense EU Countries Ready to Give Ukraine Date for Membership, EU’s Kallas Says

European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Sunday she felt that EU governments were not ready to give Ukraine a date for membership despite a…

World Taiwan President Lai Ching-te delivers a speech after inspecting reservists operating a Taiwan made Hummer 2 Drone during a training session at Loung Te Industrial Parks Service Center in Yilan, Taiwan December 2, 2025. (Reuters)

Taiwan President Vows to Strengthen Island’s Defenses in Lunar New Year Message

Taiwan will ‌strengthen its defense efforts and safeguard the island's security in the year ahead, President Lai Ching-te said in his Lunar New Year…

World Participants pose for a family photo during the African Union’s 39th Ordinary Session of Assembly of Heads of State and Government in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 14 February 2026. (EPA)

African Union Summit Calls for Unified Action to Confront Continent’s Challenges

African leaders meeting in Addis Ababa at the 39th Ordinary Session of the African Union (AU) Assembly of Heads of State and Government called for unified…

Waleed Abdulrahman (Cairo) Asharq Al Awsat (Addis Ababa)
World  In this image made from video provided by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026, Russian Chief of General Staff Gen. Valery Gerasimov speaks while inspecting the troops involved in the fighting in Ukraine. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)

Russia Says Seized a Dozen Ukrainian Villages in February

Russia's army chief Valery Gerasimov visited Moscow's troops in Ukraine and said the Kremlin's forces seized a dozen eastern villages in February, the defense…

World This photograph taken and released by Ukrainian Emergency Services on February 15, 2026 shows firefighters extinguishing a fire after a Russian drone strike in Odessa, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Handout / Ukrainian Emergency Service / AFP)

Russia’s Taman Port Damaged by Ukrainian Drone Strike

Russia's Black Sea port of Taman, which handles oil products, grain, coal and commodities, has been damaged by a Ukrainian drone attack, the governor of Russia…

World Open AI and Anthropic logos are seen in this illustration created on September 12, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

Pentagon Threatens to Cut Off Anthropic in AI Safeguards Dispute, Axios Reports

The Pentagon ​is considering ending its relationship with artificial intelligence company Anthropic over its insistence on keeping some restrictions on how the…

World  Documents that were included in the US Department of Justice release of the Jeffrey Epstein files are photographed Friday, Jan. 2, 2026. (AP)

French Prosecutors Announce Special Team for Epstein Files

The Paris prosecutor's office on Saturday announced it was setting up a special team of magistrates to analyze evidence that could implicate French nationals…

World FILE PHOTO: US President Barack Obama (R) and first lady Michelle Obama (L) greet US President-elect Donald Trump and his wife Melania for tea before the inauguration at the White House in Washington, US January 20, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo

Obama Deplores Lack of Shame after Trump Racist Monkey Clip

Former US president Barack Obama criticized a lack of shame and decorum in the country's political discourse, responding Saturday for the first time to a post…

Asharq Al Awsat